17th Annual Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity fashion show gets creative

The Zeta Delta chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. has been on Michigan State’s campus as the first black organization for 70 years.

The Alphas put on a fashion show every year that everyone looks forward to, especially this year. This year was the 17thannual fashion show and made a drastic change in locations from Demonstration Hall to the Breslin Student Events Center.

The theme of this year’s fashion show was “The Restoration: A New Civilization.” The show focused on three different chapters for the show which were the Before, the Now, and the Rebirth.

The opening scene in the Before related to Adam and Eve then going into prehistoric times, then ended with our current streetwear and futuristic looks.

Many designers, vendors, makeup artists, hair stylists and photographers helped to make the show successful. Clothing and accessory lines like Wealthy, Greatness the One, Siashade, and the CRWN Collection were a few featured in the show.

The models in the show are students at Michigan State University, and most have been in previous shows.

This year was sophomore Malika Smith’s second time being a part of the show.

“I wanted to be a part of the show because I met so many people the first time and had a fun experience,” said Smith.

Preparing for the fashion show took a lot of work and time for both the models and coordinators.

“We had a lot of long practices and a lot of frustrations between the models due to the feeling of feeling unprepared,” said Smith. “Overall I think the show turned out to be a success.”

President of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Juwan Clarke, was amazed at how the production was pulled together.

“We took a risk with the bigger location, and it was a great choice and experience for our models to build friendships with each other even after the show was completed,” said Clarke.

A former model for previous Alpha fashion shows and member of the audience, Sierra Scott, was happy with the location choice to give it a more realistic feel of a fashion show.

“The show came together in the end and was different, in a good way, from the previous years when I participated in the show,” said Scott.

There were many scenes and aspects of the show that everyone enjoyed.

“I really enjoyed the clothing made by Cyrelle for the prehistoric scene and part of the Adam and Even scene,” said Smith. “She put a lot of hard work into the show and I think she’s part of the reason why the show was a success.”

Clarke paid more attention and enjoyed the small details of the show.

“I enjoyed the creativity put into the show,” said Clarke. “I’ve always been more of an artistic and visual learner, so to see every idea brought to life amazed me and helped to create the show into what our coordinators envisioned.”

There is always a long list of scenes, but every year the lingerie scene is the most anticipated. Junior Nadia Reed, was a part of many scenes including lingerie.

“I don’t think that scene is the most anticipated because we aren’t wearing a lot of clothes, there is just a lot of thought and creativity put into the scene and everyone always knows there will be a surprise or something creative about to happen,” said Reed. “I believe the scene also gives many of our girls confidence to be comfortable in their skin and looking good while doing it.”

The Alpha fashion show is not a regular walk up and down the runway type of show. The coordinators incorporate a lot of dancing and storytelling into the scenes, which makes this show unique.

This year at Coachella, Beyoncé was the first black woman to headline the show. The theme was focused on historically black colleges and universities, which are also known as HBCUs.